abrdn plc Decreases Position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS)

abrdn plc lowered its position in Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 544,051 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 35,434 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems were worth $62,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMS. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,900,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Advanced Drainage Systems by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Advanced Drainage Systems by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 738,749 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $85,399,000 after buying an additional 129,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the fourth quarter worth $5,055,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Drainage Systems Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WMS stock opened at $117.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.75 and a fifty-two week high of $184.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The construction company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.23). Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 40.31% and a net margin of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $819.41 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Drainage Systems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Advanced Drainage Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WMS. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems from $192.00 to $184.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reduced their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $172.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Advanced Drainage Systems from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.88.

Advanced Drainage Systems Profile

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products in North America and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. It offers single, double, and triple wall corrugated polypropylene and polyethylene pipes; plastic leachfield chambers and systems; EZflow synthetic aggregate bundles; wastewater purification through mechanical aeration wastewater for residential and commercial systems; septic tanks and accessories; combined treatment and dispersal systems, including advanced enviro-septic and advanced treatment leachfield systems; and allied products, including storm retention/detention and septic chambers, polyvinyl chloride drainage structures, fittings, and water quality filters and separators.